By SUMAILA OGBAJE

The Military Pensions Board (MPB) on Tuesday announced the payment of third tranche of the Security Debarment Allowance (SDA) to eligible military retirees and next-of-kins of deceased pensioners.

Chairman of the board, Rear Adm. Saburi Lawal, made this known in a statement in Abuja.

Lawal said payment of the third tranche, represented the third quarterly payment of the SDA for the year 2023.

He said it was in fulfillment of the pledge made by the board after the payment of the first and second tranches, that payment of subsequent tranches would be effected promptly, once funds were made available by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

According to him, payment of the third tranche was to the military pensioners who were active on the board’s data base, as at Nov. 9, 2017.

He said the payment of the SDA was to give effect to the presidential approval for extension of the payment of the SDA to military pensioners and retirees who exited the services before Nov. 9 2017.

He said the group were originally excluded from implementation of the provisions of the reviewed Manual of Financial Administration (MAFA) 2017, as it relates to the SDA.

“Gleaning from the foregoing, our esteemed retirees are please to note that the SDA is calculated as a function of 10% of the retiree’s annual basic salary as at the time of retirement, multiplied by the number of years in the service

“All concerned military pensioners/retirees and next of kins of deceased military pensioners are therefore advised to contact their banks for their entitlements.

“The board wishes to assure our esteemed military retirees/pensioners, next of kins of deceased military personnel and other well-meaning Nigerians that the Board remains resolute, and will ensure prompt payment of the remaining tranches of the SDA, subject to release of funds by the Ministry,” he said. (NAN)

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